Is North Korea Developing the Capability to Sink U.S. Aircraft Carriers?

To state the obvious, the only thing worse than blundering into an unnecessary and catastrophic war would be to lose that war. As in sports, however, it is reasonably common in warfare for the underdog to prevail. Few thought that Japan could defeat Russia in 1904, but the Russian Fleet was sent to the bottom of Tsushima Strait, defying most predictions. Likewise, the battle tested French Army with superior tanks was thought to thoroughly outclass its German opponent in spring 1940. And who would have thought little, pesky North Vietnam could take on the United States and win in the mid-1960s? As one seriously considers the tragic possibility of war between the United States and North Korea, some due humility might help U.S. military planners to foresee potential strategic pitfalls.

As is well known, any land war on the Korean Peninsula would be a grueling and grotesquely bloody fight, given the concentration of forces that are well dug in and the difficult terrain that would prevent dramatic maneuvers. Naturally, planners are eager to consider options in the maritime domain, wherein North Korean forces are thought to be rather weak. True, North Korean submariners would seem to have demonstrated a modicum of skill in destroying the South Korean frigate Cheonan back in 2010, but such feats would be harder when U.S. and South Korean forces are on full alert. Indeed, it has been suggested that—assuming Chinese and Russian naval forces do not intervene—U.S. and allied fleets could operate with near impunity off North Korea’s coast to deliver hammer blows, whether by missile, air, or even insertions of special forces.

My colleague James Holmes remindsTNI readers of the possibility of significant U.S. Navy losses in such a war and wisely counsels American planners to avoid “overconfidence like the plague.” His piece logically focuses on the threat of North Korean submarines, but this Dragon Eye column will explore an altogether different North Korean threat to U.S. naval forces detailed in a mid-2017 article from the Chinese journal Naval and Merchant Ships [舰船知识] under the headline “North Korea’s Secret ‘Carrier Killer’: An Analysis of the Capabilities and Employment of the North Korean ‘Hwasong’-9 Ballistic Missile.” [秘密朝鲜版 ‘航母杀手’: 朝鲜 ‘火星’9弹道导弹性能与应用分析].

What is quite disturbing about this piece is the rather sympathetic tone that it conveys: “North Korea like China, and Iran and such countries have many times been subjected to the threat of U.S. maritime supremacy as symbolized by U.S. aircraft carriers. The advantage of deploying land-based missiles presents an obvious counter to the power of aircraft carriers …” [朝鲜与中国，伊朗等国家一样, 多次遭受美国航母为代表的海上优势力量的威胁, 赋予拥有部局优势的弹道导弹武器以反航母能力是理所当然的选择]. This analysis is so interesting precisely because Beijing has walked this road already and not so long ago. Indeed, this North Korean missile is briefly compared to China’s own DF-21D [东风-21丁]. The Hwasong-9 [火星-9] missile is at once described as a “high-precision missile,” but also one that is North Korea’s “very first smart [or literally informationalized] missile weapon.” The article explains that the orders from Kim Jong-un in 2016 were to produce this weapon for precisely the option to strike at “enemy ships” [敌人舰艇].

The article notes that this missile seems to be a SCUD-type derivative. That should be reassuring to American readers who remember that missile’s poor performance decades ago in the Gulf War. The rocket’s is said to be twelve meters long and .8m wide. One may also take comfort in that this weapon system is said to be liquid-fueled and thus harder to launch quickly. Yet what is most disturbing about the design are the four small, triangular steering fins—quite visible in parade photos—at the bottom of the missile’s upper stage. That may imply that the weapon has a warhead capable of independent maneuver [弹头可独立机动飞行], as suggested by Chinese analysis. The missile also has a smaller, but also rather elongated nose, which is said to house a “radio guidance receiver antenna” [无线电制导透波天线窗]. Therefore, the missile does seem to have, at least the outward appearance, of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) with potentially “enhanced effectiveness for penetrating missile defenses” [增加导弹突防能力]. It is speculated that the North Koreans could have gotten the relevant technology by dissecting the mid-course guidance systems of the S-200 air defense missiles they have. To reiterate, what is rather disturbing here is these authors are likely to know a thing or two about ASBM capabilities since China is the only country thought to wield this capability.